


Knight Tales

by Tamasha



Category: Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bedtime Stories, Gen, Kid Fic, Modern Era, Nightmares, POV Merlin, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Slice of Life, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, kid!Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 21:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16731342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: "Arthur came to live with Merlin four weeks ago, when his mother died in a crash. Ever since, he has been having nightmares, and Merlin has been struggling to soothe them away."





	Knight Tales

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

Merlin wakes up to a piercing scream that sets his heart beating double time. He bolts upright in his bed and looks around frantically before he realizes what is happening. It’s his nephew, Arthur.

Arthur came to live with Merlin four weeks ago, when his mother died in a crash. Ever since, he has been having nightmares, and Merlin has been struggling to soothe them away. He knows nothing about raising a child, but at this point, he is the only family that six-year-old Arthur has.

Besides, he has come to love the boy fiercely.

Merlin rouses himself and quickly goes down the short hallway to Arthur’s room. He walks in and Arthur is crouched at the foot of his bed, panting in fear. “Hey!” Merlin says firmly. Sometimes Arthur is in a bit of a daze and it takes a loud voice to break his terror. “I’m here, you're okay.” This time, Arthur’s eyes snap right to Merlin.

He reaches out a frail little hand toward the door. Merlin comes over to sit at the end of the bed next to Arthur. He takes the little boy’s hand, but Arthur just crawls right into his lap. He clutches at the fabric of Merlin’s shirt and rubs his face in it.

“A monster came to get me,” he explains shakily. “It was big and it had claws and I was so scared. I called for you, but you weren't there. Mummy was there, but she wouldn't move. She just stood there laughing.”

“Oh, Arthur,” Merlin soothes and wraps the little boy up in his arms. “You know it was just a dream, right? But if there ever was a monster, you could fight it off. You don't need to be scared of monsters.” His nephew has so many nightmares about monsters, Merlin is worried. But he wants to teach him to self-soothe, so that one day he can go right back to sleep if he wakes up from a nightmare.

Arthur is shaking slightly in his arms, but his breathing is slowing down. “Will you help me fight the monsters?”

“Of course I will!” Merlin pulls back and smiles at Arthur. “I’m a sorcerer, remember?”

Arthur slowly smiles back at him. “Yeah. And I'm a knight in shining armor.” Merlin might have told him a little bit about the Arthurian legends. How could he not, with their names? “Please, tell me a Merlin and Arthur story?”

Merlin sighs and scoots them back onto the bed in a more comfortable position. He slides an arm around Arthur’s shoulder and purses his lips in thought. His “legends” are sometimes modified, so that Arthur is a little boy and Merlin is his uncle. But he stays in the spirit of the stories. And frankly, he is quite the storyteller.

“Once, King Arthur was out in the woods, looking for the questing beast…”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I don't even care for this very much, but I figured I would post it. I saw some picture with adult Merlin sitting in a bed next to little Arthur, and I found it cute enough that I wanted to write something. So here it is!


End file.
